Natasha Bedingfield's mum, Molly, rallies the angels

Tina DauntCause CÉlÈbre

IT'S THE rare pop star who believes that mother knows best.

But when it comes to good causes, Natasha Bedingfield and her three musical siblings are happy to follow mum's lead. The London-born songstress, along with brothers Daniel and Joshua and sister Nikola Rachelle, have teamed up with their mother, Molly Bedingfield, to help children in poor countries around the world.

In the coming weeks and months, the family will be busy raising funds for Molly Bedingfield's Global Angels philanthropy, which partners with various grass-roots organizations to fight child slavery, starvation and illness.

They're sort of like the Von Trapp family but with a serious social agenda rather than a New England inn.

"This project reminds me of what's important in life," said Natasha, whose new song, "Angel," is dedicated to her mother and her efforts on behalf of children. "People always talk about celebrity mums and how they are in the shadow of kids. I like the fact that my mum is doing something that is much more about other people than herself.

"Every time I go home [to London] to see her, she tells me about all the projects she's working on and it reminds me of what's important in life."

Molly Bedingfield, who was in Los Angeles this week to visit her multi-coastal kids, said she started Global Angels five years ago as a way to take a more proactive role in children's causes. She also hoped it would prompt her children to get involved. (They've since accompanied her on her travels around the world.)

Over brunch in Los Feliz on Monday, she joked: "Why raise pop-star children if you can't encourage them to use their fame to help those in need?"

To prove how serious she is, Molly is planning what might be called an extreme leap of faith: She plans to sky dive from 29,500 feet over Mt. Everest next week to raise $1 million in sponsorship pledges for Global Angels. Natasha's fiancé, director Matt Robinson, is accompanying Molly -- who will sport special gear and an oxygen tank -- to film the adventure, to be coordinated by professional sky divers.

Molly plans to repeat the jump next year and is inviting group donors to accompany her. She is also working on two fundraising concerts: one at the Kodak Theatre and one at the Hollywood Bowl.

"The idea is that anyone can be an angel," Molly said. "After seeing kids in need in these poor countries, I realized I could do nothing else for the rest of my life but help them."

Along the way, she's also redefining the notion of what it means to be a stage mother.